Acting Kyrgyzstan President Bakiyev: 'Life is Returning to Normal'

April 04, 2005

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Acting Kyrgyzstan President Bakiyev: 'Life is Returning to Normal'

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In an exclusive interview with VOA, Bakiyev lays out his main goals as acting president.

Washington, D.C., April 4, 2005 - Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Acting President of Kyrgyzstan, today told the Voice of America (VOA) that the country is returning to normal after the March 24 political upheaval in that country that resulted in Monday's resignation by the former President Askar Akayev.

In an exclusive interview with VOA's Russian Service in the capital city of Bishkek, Bakiyev emphasized that the constitution of Kyrgyzstan should not change and that he, as President and guarantor of the constitution, will be sure that the balance of power between the three branches of government is maintained. Bakiyev stressed that ensuring stability and maintaining law and order, as well as fighting corruption, are among his main goals as acting president.

"Today, I can definitely say that the situation is stabilizing and that life is returning to normal," he said. Promising "a decent life for everyone in Kyrgyzstan," Bakiyev explained that those who want education should be able to get it and those who want to work should have the opportunity to do so.

VOA's Russian Service broadcasts 3 hours of radio programs daily via shortwave and affiliates, as well as the weekly 30-minute TV show Window on the World. Programs are also available on the Internet at www.VOANews.com/Russian.

The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in Russian and 43 other languages.

For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 401-7000, or by e-mail at publicaffairs@voa.gov.